


Drift Away.

by yourlovercrutchie



Category: Newsies - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, also didnt proof read this i, btw this is technically not jackcrutchie cause its all platonic but im tagging it anyways, wrote this at 1 am send help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:27:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25169191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourlovercrutchie/pseuds/yourlovercrutchie
Summary: happy to listen, happy to stay, happily watching him drift away.☆☆☆☆☆just another angsty (technically platonic) jackcrutchie oneshot I wrote at 1 am, this time with drift away from the su movie soundtrack so,,, woohoo,,,
Relationships: Crutchie & Jack Kelly, Crutchie/Jack Kelly, Jack Kelly/Katherine Plumber
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	Drift Away.

**Author's Note:**

> hey, i dont have much to say tbh, but my tumblr is @your-lover-crutchie so if yall wanna follow me yknoowwww...  
> TW: very brief mention of abuse (it's very minor, but still there, so keep safe, friends!!)

_Here in the garden, "let's play a game!"_

Jack has yelled those words out to Crutchie oh, so many years ago out in the park. They were still so young and naive, maybe 10 or 11 at the time. The two chased eachother around for hours, running close behind one another, playing pretend, just doing what kids do. "Jack! Help!" Crutchie had jokingly yelled with a laugh, pretending he'd been kidnapped by some sort of evil guy they'd heard about in the stories. Jack rushed over, helping Crutchie up, holding his hand tight as he dragged him along across the park. "C'mon, let's get outta here!" Jack responded with a smile and a quiet laugh, earning a quick nod from Crutchie as they both ran off towards the lodging house.

_Here in the garden, stand very still, "oh, this'll be so much fun!"_

Jack had said those very words to Crutchie the day everything changed. They were all happy, smiling, taking a stand. Then things went downhill. "Jack! Help!" Crutchie cried out, panic in his voice as he reached out for Jack. "Please! Help, Jack!" This wasn't a game anymore. "Jack, please!" Crutchie screamed again, trying to get away, only to be dragged off by the bulls, leaving Jack all alone, helpless and frozen in place. Then he ran away. Ran away from it all.

_And then he smiled, that's what I'm after, a smile in his eyes, the sound of his laughter._

Crutchie stared out the window at the empty, black sky, pen in hand as he wrote to Jack. He smiled ever so slightly, remembering the quiet morning where they'd woken up before the sunrise, their eyes meeting for just a moment before looking away again, huge smiles on their faces. But all that had changed. Happy to listen, happy to play, happily watching him drift away. "Your friend…" Crutchie whispered to himself, writing down the words onto the paper as carefully and neatly as he could. He shook his head slightly, quickly scribbling it out, replacing it with "Your best friend,", as he whispered the words. He then scribbled it out once more, pausing as he stared at all the words clustered onto the page. "Your brother, Crutchie." He said, slightly louder than before as he'd come to the final decision. He quickly folded the letter into fourths, setting the pen on top as he slid it into his pocket, before staring out the window once more.

_Happily waiting, all on my own, under the endless sky, counting the seconds, standing alone, as thousands of years go by._

Crutchie waited and waited there, day after day, each night hoping for a better day. "Maybe Jack will really come to save me tomorrow!" He'd told himself, but deep down, he knew Jack would never be coming back. I mean, he didn't even bother to write back… but then again, who could ever want a broken boy like Crutchie? Happily wondering, night after night, is this how it works? Am I doing it right? Happy to listen. Happy to stay. Happily watching him drift away. Every night, Crutchie would stare out the window, into the never-changing black, empty sky. Why was he here? Why didn't Jack try to help him, why did he leave him there? Why was he hit day after day and screamed at for every move he made? _What was he doing wrong?_

_You keep on turning pages, for people who don't care, people who don't care about you. And still, it takes you ages, to see that no one's there, see that no one's there, see that no one's there… everyone's gone on, without you._

Crutchie never understood why he kept thinking about Jack. I mean, Jack had left him there, stood still as he watched Crutchie carried away. But Crutchie just kept thinking about him. Writing new scenarios. New days. New stories. But Jack had gone on without him, without so much as a thought of Crutchie.

_Finally something, finally news, about how the story ends. He doesn't exist now, survived by his son, and all of his brand new friends._

"Heya fellas! Ya miss me?!" Crutchie said with a forced smile, looking at all the boys he'd known all his life. Then he sees Jack. He sees the hurt in Jack's eyes as he saw Crutchie again. But Jack ran down, pulled Crutchie into his arms, lifting him off the ground for a moment, only to let him down and step away, going to join the others. Davey, Les, Spot, and Katherine. Oh. He has new friends now. He doesn't need me anymore, does he? Crutchie thought to himself at that moment, seeing the way they'd smiled at eachother, the way they all seemed to be perfect together. And Jack left Crutchie behind. The broken boy who no one wanted. Of course.

_Isn't that lovely? Isn't that cool? And isn't that cruel? And aren't I a fool to have, happily listened, happy to stay._

Crutchie watched it all with a smile. Albeit, a forced one, one to hide the pain, but a smile nonetheless. He was happy for Jack, he really was, he seemed happy with them. But it still hurts. It used to be Jack and Crutchie, just the two of them. But now it was Jack and Katherine. And Jack and Davey. And Jack and Les. And Jack and Spot. No longer Jack and Crutchie. But it was just better that way, wasn't it?

**_Happily watching him drift, drift, drift away._**


End file.
